Mimaporia owadai Huang & Wang

Huang, Si-Yao, Wang, Min, Da, Wa & Fan, Xiao-Ling, 2019, New discoveries of the family Epicopeiidae from China, with description of a new species (Lepidoptera, Epicopeiidae), ZooKeys 822, pp. 33-51 : 35-38

Mimaporia owadai Huang & Wang sp. n. Figs 2-4, 5-8, 9

Mimaporia sp.: Wei & Yen, 2017, 544, 547, fig. 11.

Type material.

Holotype: male, altitude 2800 m, 3.VIII.2004, Moxi Town, Luding County, Ganzi Tibetan Autonomous Prefecture, PR China, leg. Min Wang (SCAU).

Diagnosis.

Externally, male of Mimaporia owadai sp. n. is similar to that of the type species of the genus, M. hmong Wei & Yen, 2017, but it can be immediately distinguished from the latter externally by the bipectinate antenna, more yellowish patterns on upper side of both wings, hindwing upper side with a well-developed grayish basal zone and with submarginal band weakly developed, with only trails in cell M1 to cell CuA2. In male genitalia, Mimaporia owadai sp. n. can be distinguished easily from M. hmong by the tip of the valve obviously narrowing and ending with a sharper apex, praesacculus ending with a single-branched process, juxta with a median triangular process directing ventrally and with the sclerotized shaft in aedeagus narrowing in the middle part. The individual figured in Wei and Yen (2017: 544, fig. 11) is identical with the holotype in external features, which should be regarded as the same species.

Description.

Male (Figs 2-4). Length of forewing 35 mm, wingspan 62 mm. Head black; frons wide, covered with long blackish brown hairy scales and white scales; vertex covered with long blackish brown hair; compound eye black and large; antenna black, bipectinate. Thorax black; patagia covered with white scale and long blackish brown hairy scales; tegula covered with long blackish brown hairy scales and brownish scales, and surrounded by short white scales; abdomen covered with black scales and long blackish brown hair dorsally and yellowish white hair ventrally. Forewing upper side ground color black, all patterns creamy white, cilia black. Costa with a slender stripe at base; a triangle cell bar present at the base of discoidal cell; median band consisted of six patches of different sizes and shape extending from costa to cell CuA1; postmedian band consisted of six dots of different sizes and shape extending from cell R4 to cell CuA1 and shifting outwards at cell R5 and M1; a single rounded dot present in cell R3 at subapical zone. Forewing under side ground color blackish brown, paler at basal area; patterns similar to upper side. Hindwing upper side ground color black, all patterns creamy white, cilia yellowish white from apex to vein CuA1, and gradually become blackish brown from vein CuA1 to anal angle. Wing base and about half of the hindwing costa grayish brown; median zone with a single large patch extending from costa to dorsum, and are divided into smaller and slender patches by darkened veins. Two dots present at subapical zone; submarginal band poorly-developed, with only trail of paler patches extending from cell m1 to cell CuA2. Hindwing underside ground color similar to forewing underside, submarginal band well-developed and represented by five separated yellowish white patches extending from cell M1 to CuA2; other patterns similar to the upper side.

Male genitalia (Figs 5-8). Uncus well developed, bending downwards at distal one third. Tegumen broad. Costula (Fig. 8) presents at the junction of tegumen and vinculum, semi-circular and concaves shallowly at the middle, its surface scobinated by numerous small spines at both side of marginal area of the concave portion. Transtilla broad, slightly sclerotized. Juxta broad, U-shaped, with a triangular process at the middle part. Saccus narrow, triangular. Valva broad, gradually narrowing towards apex and ending with a rounded tip; its inner surface densely setose. Costa strongly sclerotized. Sacculus sclerotized, broad at base and narrowing towards tip. Praesacculus strongly sclerotized, ending with a triangular process directed dorsally. Aedeagus short and stout, narrowing at the middle and expanding near the apex in dorsal view. A strongly pigmented and sclerotized shaft present in the aedeagus, with middle part narrowing.

Female. Unknown.

Distribution.

This species is currently known to occur in Luding and Wenchuan counties (Wolong) in western and northwestern Sichuan province at present.

Etymology.

The specific name owadai is named in honor of Dr. Mamoru Owada (Tsukuba, Japan) who provided us with assistance and some literature.

Remarks.

This new species flew like a Neptis ( Nymphalidae ) butterfly in conifer-broadleaf forest (Fig. 9) at the altitude about 2800 m. Actually, the wing maculation of forewing of the genus Mimaporia is also similar to certain species in the genus Neptis , for example Neptis alwina (Bremer & Grey, 1852), Neptis dejeani Oberthür, 1894 and Neptis philyroides Staudinger, 1887, by upper side sharing similar median and postmedian band and cell bar on forewing as well as postmedian band on hindwing. The distribution area of Mimaporia owadai sp. n. is within the distribution area of the former two species, while distribution area of M. hmong (northern Vietnam) falls within the distribution area of the last species. So we suspect that the genus Mimaporia might probably also a mimicker of the genus Neptis Fabricius, 1807 ( Nymphalidae ).